


Love and War

by Pearl_Unplanned



Series: Cap_Ironman Bingo 2015 [7]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cap_Ironman Bingo, Community: cap_ironman, M/M, My mind works in mysterious ways, Stony Bingo, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 05:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5036329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Unplanned/pseuds/Pearl_Unplanned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love is a terrible tragedy. Nothing was ever easy or simple when it came to love. Love was something that Tony just couldn't figure out. There were a couple things that he knew for sure. One, he was in love with Steve Rogers. Two, because Steve was from a time when that wasn't allowed, Steve was not in love with him. Three, it was impossible to tell Steve how much he loved him because of that.</p><p>     Or the one where Steve gets turned into a tree. Yes, you heard me. A tree.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love and War

**Author's Note:**

> For Bingo Prompt: Injury/Illness  
> It's a magic injury/illness. Kind of.  
> Oh, and BINGO! Or should I be shouting "STONY!"

 

            Love is a terrible tragedy. Nothing was ever easy or simple when it came to love. Love was something that Tony just couldn't figure out. There were a couple things that he knew for sure. One, he was in love with Steve Rogers. Two, because Steve was from a time when that wasn't allowed, Steve was not in love with him. Three, it was impossible to tell Steve how much he loved him because of that.

            "I could use some backup, Iron Man," Steve said through the communication line.

            And then there was that. Steve was always around him, probably because they were best friends, and it was _difficult_. Tony wanted to be around Steve, he really did, and he _loved_ being around Steve, but it was hard because he wanted to tell Steve. He really did. But it was a friendship that he just couldn't destroy.

            "Roger that, Rogers," Tony replied, letting his scanners locate the star-spangled man. Tony blasted down another one of the flying demonic creatures that they were fighting before one was able to knock Clint off the roof before he headed off towards Steve. It took all of three seconds to shoot down past the man out of time and knock a couple of the creatures away from him.

            "Thank you," Steve shouted to him before slamming his shield into another of the creatures.

            "No problem," Tony replied quietly, and he bit back a sigh. If he could just always have Steve smiling at him, Tony would be fine with that. It took a few seconds for him to find the main creature again, a large human-like beast that actually spoke some English. Raising his repulsors, Tony blasted at the creature a couple of times, but he only succeeded in making it angrier.

            "Insolent creature," the beast-thing spat, flying towards Tony, knocking him out of the sky. Tony let out a surprised gasp as they both crashed into the ground. He was expecting to be beaten into the ground, but instead the weight of the creature was gone as Steve pulled the thing off of him. He was barely able to say a word of thanks before the creature threw Steve into him, knocking them both over.

            Tony really hated destroying part of Central Park, but that was just what happened when the villains attacked.

            "You petty creatures," the thing snarled, looking back and forth between Steve and Tony when Steve quickly jumped up in front of him, wanting to protect him.

            "You won't win," Steve snarled, shield raised and ready to protect his team. God, that was one of the things that Tony loved about him. His spirit, his energy.

            "Ah, but I don't have to right now," the creature said, eyes narrowing. "You humans think you're so smart, but you're not. When it comes to the most basic of things, you're as dumb as can be. But that will be _your_ downfall." The creature grabbed Steve and tossed him against the ground, but before Tony could rush to his aid, a few of the smaller creatures mobbed him to keep him away.

            "A team without its Captain can't survive," the creature murmured, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "That is, if your teammates aren't able to save you in time."

            Steve got to his feet but wavered a little when dark magic started to swirl around him. Tony watched as Steve's eyes widened in surprise and _fear._

            "After all," the beast said smugly, grinning in Tony's direction, "all's fair in love and war."

            The main creature disappeared, and after him, all the smaller creatures started fading too.

            "We did it," Tony laughed, taking a step towards Steve. "The battle's over—"

            "Something's wrong," Steve said quickly, stumbling backward. He let out a cry of pain, and Tony was out of the suit in a second, wanting to help Steve in any way that he could. The problem was that Steve suddenly wasn't able to step backward anymore, and his suit was starting to rip apart.

            "Get back," Steve gasped, trying to bite back the pain, "I don't want to hurt you."

            That's when Tony saw what was happening. Steve's legs were rooted to the ground—literally _rooted_ —while the bark had already started climbing up his body. His legs actually looked like they'd fused together and were starting to become like a tree trunk.

            "We'll figure this out, Steve, I promise," Tony said quickly, and he put his hands on Steve's shoulders for as long as he was able to. Steve's face was twisted in what was probably pain.

            Tony could only watch in horror as the bark spread down Steve's arms, elongating them and stretching them upward, like the rest of his body, until there was nothing more than a tree in front of him. Tony knew that he was shaking, hands pressed against the bark of what might've been an oak tree.

            "Tony? Tony did that just happen? Is Steve...?" Tony was barely paying any attention to what was going on with the communication line.

            "That thing just... he just... I don't even know _how_ ," Tony whispered, resting his forehead against the tree bark. "He turned Steve into a tree. A _fucking_ tree. I don't even know how he did it, or _why_ , or how we're supposed to get Steve back! It's not _fair!_ "

            _All's fair in love and war,_ the thing had said to him. How the heck did that creature know that he was in love with Steve? Did it know? It had to have known, just based on what it had said.

            "I don't... I don't want to leave him alone right now," Tony murmured, messing with the little comm. in his ear. "I don't know if he can hear us, or if he'd still be able to understand us, but I don't... it had to be painful and scary to suddenly get turned into a tree, so I, uh, don't think that he should be left here alone."

            "Understood," Natasha replied. "We're on our way over, Tony. Is he... is he alright? He doesn't appear injured, does he?"

            Tony took a step backward, observing the large tree. There weren't any obvious marks on the tree, and... he looked like any other tree. "I... think he's okay. You know, for a tree." Oh God this was bad. "Think there's any non-magic way to get Steve back?"

            "I can look into it," Bruce offered, and suddenly they didn't need the communication line anymore, because his team showed up. Bruce walked over and ran a hand across the tree's—across _Steve's_ —bark. "I don't think it would be the safest way to fix him, though. The best way to resolve this would probably be to contact Thor and see if he knows anything useful. Or maybe there's some sort of mythology on it that might be helpful... Hey Steve," Bruce shouted, patting at the bark, "is there anything you can do to show us that you can still understand us?"

            Tony was expecting something, _anything_ , to happen. He wanted Steve to still be able to understand what was going on. He didn't want Steve to be a tree.

            Nothing happened.

            "My guess is that until we find a cure, he's just going to remain as a tree..." Bruce sighed.

            "So there's nothing we can do?" Clint asked, and Tony could hear the fear in his voice. Tony knew how much Clint admired Steve, how much they _all_ admired Steve. The blond was like the older brother that Clint had lost so many years ago, except Steve actually cared about him and would never leave him behind.

            "Doesn't seem like it, at the moment," Bruce said regretfully.

            "I'll stay with him for now," Clint offered. "It'll give you two geniuses a chance to look for some sort of cure and examine your options." Clint patted Tony's shoulder. "Then you can have a turn, okay Tony?"

            He was about to argue, but instead Tony just closed his mouth and nodded. He didn't want to leave Steve, he really didn't, but realistically Tony knew that Clint was right. "Yeah... that would be the smartest thing to do. Just, uh, don't let anyone near him, okay? Don't let any lovesick teens carve their initials into his bark, and don't let kids put a tire swing in his branches, and—"

            "Tony, I got it. He's my teammate too, you know," Clint said. "I can keep an eye on him. I'm not stupid." Clint glanced up at Steve again, a pondering look on his face. "Think he'd mind if I sat among his branches? I'm not a fan of being low on the ground."

            Honestly, no. Tony doubted that Steve would care. In fact, Steve would make sure to tell Clint that yes, he was allowed to do that. Tony shrugged. "I don't think he'd mind."

            "Good. I'm going to talk to him, see if he answers or not," Clint said. "Should we tell SHIELD?"

            "It might be good to have someone else looking into it, too," Bruce said with a sigh. Tony didn't want to tell them, and he knew that his team didn't, either, because no one wanted SHIELD to try to test on Steve or something. Tony bit his lip, looking back over at Steve. This... didn't just happen to people. They didn't just get _turned into trees_.

            "Go on. I don't think he's going to be moving anywhere any time soon," Clint said, attempting at some humor. Tony just frowned at him and brushed a hand across the tree.

            Tony sighed. "I'll be back. Soon."

 

            As it turned out, there weren't many myths about people being turned into trees. The only ones that Tony was able to find were the ones about elderly lovers being turned into trees when they died. And then there was a story about Apollo and Daphne, but their situation couldn't possibly be based off of that one, because Tony wasn't struck by Cupid's arrow of love, and Steve didn't absolutely hate him because of it. Right? He hadn't told Steve, so that definitely could be his reaction, but... Daphne never became human again.

            That couldn't be the end of it. There _had_ to be a way to turn him back, because there was no way that they were going to leave Steve as a tree. The sheer _idea_ of it just shocked Tony beyond belief. The fact that he could think of Steve as a _tree_... oh God, they had to get him back to normal soon.

            "I don't know what else to _try_ to research," Bruce sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You haven't told him yet, have you Tony?"

            "Told him... what?" Tony asked. There was no way that Bruce could be talking about his feelings for Steve, because Tony had never mentioned that to Bruce whatsoever.

            "Tony, I think the only oblivious ones are you and Steve," Bruce said, an unimpressed look crossing his face. "Clint and Natasha have started making _bets_ about you two. So that would be a no, then?"

            "No. I didn't tell him, and he didn't run away in hatred and plea for that creature thing to save him," Tony muttered. "And that's a _good_ thing, because Daphne remained a tree forever. Steve's not going to be doing the same. Got it? I... I'm going to figure something out, because he deserves more than that. A _lot_ more." Tony grabbed a tablet and headed for the door. "I'm going back over there."

            "It's been two hours. I don't think much has changed, Tony," Bruce said, but Tony just ignored him. Bruce didn't understand how deep Tony's feelings ran for Steve, so the idea of leaving him alone right now just cut real deep.

            It didn't take long to get to the park, and it _really_ didn't take long to find Steve, because Tony would never accidently lose him. Never. "Clint?"

            "Up here," Clint called to him, and Tony looked up, spotting the archer among the branches. Clint waved for him to climb up, too.

            Tony sighed. "Hope you don't mind this, Steve," he whispered before pulling himself up into the branches. While he'd never really climbed a tree before, especially as a kid, Tony didn't find it too hard to do.

            "So I've been trying to figure out if Steve's still able to hear or understand us," Clint said, moving positions to help Tony so he didn't fall down. "Thus far, I really think that he _can_ hear, but can't respond... but it may just be wishful thinking. I'd like to think that Steve's still in there somewhere." Clint sighed. Tony knew that he was thinking about how much he respected Steve and didn't want him to be stuck like that. "So what did you guys figure out? Must be something if you're already here."

            "Actually, about that," Tony murmured. "So Bruce and I were searching for any stories about people being turned into trees, and there were only really two main stories. Elderly lovers becoming trees when they died simultaneously so they'd never be apart... which is of no use to us... and the story of Apollo and Daphne. Apollo was shot with a love arrow, Daphne with a hate arrow, so Apollo fell in love with her, but she _hated_ him. When she tried to leave, she prayed to be saved, and her prayer was answered when she was turned into a tree to get away from him. So that's not really relevant either, right? I highly doubt Steve hates me... I mean, I consider him a friend, so I hope he doesn't hate me. And no one's being shot with arrows around here; you're _really_ good at missing us, Clint. But there's no story on how someone turns back into a human..."

            "So you're giving up?" Clint asked. Anger flashed through Tony.

            "Of course not!" Tony growled, but judging by the look on his face he knew that Clint didn't really mean it. "I brought the tablet to continue looking, but... I hate having to leave Steve here. I want to take him home to the tower. If he could've just been turned into one of those little potted plants, that would've been easier. I would've brought him home and made sure that nothing happened. But right now? He's _huge_. I don't want to rip up his rooting, because that might kill him... but I don't want to leave him here, either, so... I'm staying here."

            "We can stay here in shifts," Clint offered, but Tony shook his head.

            "It's my fault... if I would've been faster, I could've _protected_ him, and he wouldn't be like this right now," Tony said. "I couldn't protect him, Clint, so I need to _save_ him now."

            "Steve's not the kind of guy to _let_ you protect him," Clint pointed out. It was so true, though. Steve was the guy who would always _protect_ people before he'd let himself be protected. Tony smiled a little when he felt some leaves brush across his face.

            "I'm going to stay here with him," Tony said. "I can't... I can't _leave_ , not now. I need to figure this out, Clint."

            "Well, I'll let you be, then, and I'll go with Natasha to SHIELD to see if they can figure something out, too," Clint said, leaning over to put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "It's going to be alright, Tony. It will. Someone will figure something out, and then Steve will be back to normal. I'd give it a couple of days, tops. He'll be fine again before the weeks out."

            "Hope so," Tony whispered. He watched as Clint partially climbed down then jumped. He waved to Tony, Tony waved back, and then Clint was gone. Sighing, he leaned back against the branches, settling down and turning on his tablet.

            "I'm sorry, Steve, I really am," Tony said, running his hand across the branches. "I wasn't fast enough... I don't know what to do. And what the hell did that thing mean by 'all's fair in love and war'? Turning you into a tree doesn't make any sense at all. But I'll figure it out, I promise I will. I'll get you back to normal in no time."

 

            "Any luck?" Bruce shouted up to him.

            Tony sighed and glanced down at him. "Not really. I've been searching _everything_ , I've been running calculations, but I just can't figure it _out_ , Bruce! There's nothing... I've got nothing. I can't figure out how this happened, _why_ it happened, or how to reverse it. I'm going _crazy_ trying to find an answer!"

            Tony sighed again, relaxing against the tree branches. This was not how today was supposed to go. This was never _ever_ supposed to happen, _especially_ not to Steve. Steve was the best, bad things shouldn't happen to him.

            "I thought I should stop by and warn you... when S.H.I.E.L.D. heard about it, they apparently decided that it would be best to uproot him now before the public finds out, so they can move him to a safer location," Bruce said. He was frowning and sounded nervous.

            "What if they _hurt_ him?" Tony asked, clutching tightly to one of the branches. "They're not going to lay a _finger_ on him as long as I'm around."

            "I think it's a bad idea. They don't understand what happened any more than we do, and you're right—moving him right now could end up killing him. Who knows how far his roots go down right now? And if they're clipped, who's to say he's not going to lose his toes or feet when he's a human again?"

            Tony was glad that Bruce said 'when' and not 'if'. "Thanks for the warning. That gives me even less time than I was hoping for, though."

            "The rest of the team's coming by to help guard him," Bruce continued. "I'm going to try to contact Thor one more time, but I'll be back. We'll figure this out, Tony. Steve will be human again soon."

            "I hope you're right," Tony whispered, settling back down into the branches. He sent Jarvis a message, and his suit was going to arrive in about two minutes. "I'll figure this out Steve, I will... I don't know _how_ , but I will."

            When the suit showed up, Tony got Jarvis to pilot it as he continued trying to figure out a way to turn Steve back. He started researching the phrase 'all's fair in love and war', and learned of its connection to Greek mythology, and therefore the story of Apollo and Daphne. There were far too many meanings for the phrase, and Tony was a bit worried about some of them. A lot implied intense hatred, and Tony could only hope that Steve didn't really have that much built up hatred for him. Both the quote and the mythology story implied that Steve held a lot of hatred and resentment for him, but Tony had never _seen_ that before.

            After a little while, the team showed up. And so did S.H.I.E.L.D.

            "If you get any closer, I will _end_ you," Tony growled, repulsors aimed and ready. He was a couple of feet in front of Steve, glaring at the agents.

            "Fury said—"

            "I don't care _what_ Fury said, _I'm_ saying that I will open fire if you come any closer," Tony said, monotone. Tony glanced over his left shoulder when he heard someone tap on it.

            "Easy there tiger. I don't think anyone needs to lose their head over this," Clint said. Tony didn't miss the way that he kept glancing over at Steve, though, a saddened look on his face. He then concentrated on the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, the emotion draining from his face. "Back to HQ, I've got some words for Fury."

            "Me too," Natasha added, walking over to join him. The agents looked quite concerned about the death glares from the two ex-assassins, so they didn't argue when Clint and Natasha dragged them back over to their cars, with the two Avengers promising to return as they left.

            "So, back to research?" Bruce asked, putting a hand on Tony's armored shoulder. "They're not going to be coming back anytime soon, Tony, you can relax."

            "I _can't_ relax! I don't know how to _fix_ him, Bruce, and nothing I'm doing is _helping!_ Why can't I figure it out?" Tony snapped, but he felt instantly regretful after seeing the shocked look on Bruce's face. "Sorry..." Tony muttered. "I'm just really stressed. I.... it's my fault, and I can't fix it."

            "It's not your fault, and we'll figure it out," Bruce said. "Now come on, out of that suit. Leave Jarvis to pilot it while we search."

            "You're right," Tony admitted, stepping out of the suit and over towards Steve, plopping down among the roots of the tree. "I've been searching the phrase 'all's fair in love and war' because that's what the thing said to us before it left. I don't understand what it meant by it."

            "I can help," Bruce offered.

            The rest of the evening was spent discussing potential meanings for the phrase, arguing different points, and a long conversation about how Steve didn't hate him. Tony wasn't exactly convinced when that conversation ended, but it was nice to hear that someone thought Steve rather liked him, instead of hated him.

 

            It wasn't until the sun hit his face when Tony woke up. He hadn't realized that he'd been asleep until now. Tony sat up quickly, hand gripping the branches that surrounded him. Tony looked around, not remembering how he got here. Small, delicate petals brushed his cheek. Overnight, all of the green leaves in the tree had been outmatched by the pale pink flowers that seemed to appear out of nowhere. It was a beautiful sight, being surrounded by fragile flowers.

            "Steve," Tony whispered, eyes wide as he looked around. "Are you able to understand me? Did you... did you do this? Do you know I'm here? Can you hear the team talking?" In a whisper he added, "Can you hear _me?_ "

            Nothing answered him, though. Tony hadn't been expecting an answer, honestly.

            Steve had to be able to hear them the entire time... right? Tony ran a hand across one of the branches.

            "Steve, buddy, if you are able to hear me, then know this: I _won't_ let S.H.I.E.L.D. hurt you," Tony murmured. He carefully climbed out of the branches, careful not to hurt his friend. Tony noticed that his suit was still on guard. Tony smiled. Jarvis was always there for him.

            "I can figure this out, Steve, I _can_ ," Tony murmured, leaning against the tall trunk. He just had to think. The answer must've been there somewhere! It had to be something that the thing had said to them, when it turned Steve into a tree. _All's fair in love and war_ was his only clue. There had to be something in that sentence that would tell him what he was supposed to do, how he was supposed to get Steve back.

            Then it hit him.

            "True love is worth any price," Tony murmured. That was one of the meanings for the sentence. One of the many meanings. Tony looked up at the petals that were staring to swirl down all around him. "That's what it means, Steve. That's one of the meanings. And it's true. It's worth anything... I'm scared to lose you, Steve," Tony admitted. "There's something that I want to tell you, but I'm scared, because I don't... I _can't_ lose you."

            Tony took a deep breath, resting his forehead against the tree trunk.

            "But you're worth it, Steve. I may lose you, but if this saves you, it'll be worth it,” Tony whispered. He had to fight the urges _not_ to hold his tongue, because he had to say this. "This isn't some... random thing, Steve. This... I've been... I've been feeling this way for quite some time now, and it's about time to man up and tell you. I think... I think I'm in love with you. There, I said it. I'm in love with you Steve, and I'm not scared anymore to say that, and I... I need you back. I don't know how you feel, but I need you to know that you're _everything_ to me."

            Tony leaned forward, pressing his lips to the tree trunk. He knew that it was dumb, but he couldn't help himself. His hands, on either side of the tree trunk, started moving together. The bark became softer. Something wrapped around Tony, pressing against his back. Tony's eyes flashed open as he pulled away. There was a smiling face in front of him, one that wasn't quite human yet. There were still leaves in his hair, slowly disappearing or falling out. There was a crown of flowers, delicate and pink, circling around his head. The bark was facing from his skin, lips becoming softer, skin going back to its natural shade. His arms and fingers were getting shorter, twigs falling off and becoming flesh again.

            "Tony." The voice wasn't quite back to normal, it was still rough around the edges, but it was still _his_.

            "Steve!" Tony shouted, wrapping his arms around the super-soldier. He pressed his face against Steve's chest, tears in his eyes. "I thought you were never going to turn back! I... S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to come, and they were going to take you, and I couldn't let them—"

            "Shh," Steve murmured, hugging Tony close. It was easier to hug him once the bark disappeared. "It's okay, Tony, it's okay. I know. I... I heard."

            "All of it?" Tony asked.

            "All of it."

            There was a gentle smile on Steve's face, and he didn't look mad about what had happened. He didn't look mad about what Tony had said. "Thank you," Steve whispered, taking Tony's hand in his. "Thank you for finding the courage to say what I couldn't... Thank you."

            "So is that an... I love you too?" Tony asked. He couldn't move. He felt like putty in Steve's hands.

            "I love you too," Steve whispered, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Tony's. When they broke apart, Tony leaned against Steve's chest, and the super-soldier wrapped his arms around the genius, holding him close. "I'm here, Tony, I'm here. Let's go home, hmm?"

            "Sounds like a plan," Tony murmured, and he helped Steve to his feet. "The team will be overjoyed—we've been trying to find some way to turn you back, and no one could figure out anything... They'll be so happy!"

            "Are you happy?" Steve asked, smirking.

            Tony grinned. "So happy," he said, opening up the Iron Man suit. "Let's get you home."

            Holding Steve in his arms like they'd done time after time, Tony blasted off into the sky, with Steve pressed against his chest, his arms around Steve, Steve's arms around him. And he knew that nothing would ever be the same again.


End file.
